The European Social Economy Conference (13-14 November) brought together over 600 delegates to San Sebastián, Spain, to discuss how to continue to support the social economy. The event culminated with the adoption of the San Sebastian Manifesto, which saw the 19 signatory countries recognise the key role of social economy actors.
The social economy boasts three million enterprises that contribute 8% to the EU’s GDP.
The conference featured a range of panel discussions and workshops with speakers including cooperative leaders and practitioners. The cooperative movement was represented at the event, including by members and sectoral organisations of the International Cooperative Alliance. Cooperative attendees included Rosa Lavín, President of EGES and the Confederation of Cooperatives of the Basque Country (KONFECOOP); Giuseppe Guerini, President of CECOP and EESC member; Iñigo Albizuri Landazabal, Head of Global Public Affairs, MONDRAGON Corporation; Ramón Armengol, COGECA president; Ana Aguirre, President of the International Cooperative Alliance Youth Network; and Íñigo Ucín, President of MONDRAGON Corporation.
During the opening session, panellists discussed the significance of the European Social Economy Action Plan and the UN Resolution on SSE as a toolbox to scale up the social economy. Participants heard from several high-level officials, including the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit; the President of Social Economy Europe (SEE) and the Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES), Juan Antonio Pedreño; Spain’s Secretary of State for employment and social economy, Joaquín Pérez Rey; the Mayor of San Sebastián, Eneko Goia; and the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security of the Basque Country, Elena Pérez.
During the first day of the conference, the European Commission was awarded the Denon Artean Award for its role in promoting the social economy.
Delegates also had the chance to visit local social economy actors, including cooperatives, and to listen to the Humanity at Music cooperative symphony concert performed by the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra.
Cooperatives Europe marked its presence at the Social Economy Conference. The event was a vibrant hub of plenaries, workshops, and meetings, including a special session with the ICA youth committee and the Youth European Cooperative Network (YECN).
Discussions centred around sustaining engagement in international youth movements and bolstering national networks. A highlight was the collaboration with Mondragon University and involvement in their 'Platform Coops Venture Builder' project. This event underscored the vitality and innovation within the social economy sector.
On the second day, CICOPA organised a parallel event on “Platform cooperatives and labour rights in the digital economy” to showcase worker cooperatives’ perspective on why the regulatory framework for platform work is crucial, and the impact of the lack of regulation on platform cooperatives. CICOPA’s full report is available here.
The event heard from Maravillas Espin, Director General for Self-Employment, Social Economy and CSR from the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy; Francesca Martinelli, from Centro Studi Doc Foundation; and European platform co-ops such as Robin Food Cooperative and Erman Coop. Participants also explored good practices, highlighting the challenges that platform cooperatives face in the digital economy – and common solutions to these – by referring to examples from Japan, Colombia, and Argentina.
Euro Coop board members, who were convening in San Sebastián on 13 November for a meeting, also attended the opening plenary session of the EU Social Economy Conference. After engaging in the plenary, the Euro Coop Board convened in a hybrid format. Later that day the board members also visited an Eroski store to experience the latest retail innovation. On the following day, they attended a seminar that highlighted cooperative sustainability initiatives across the continent. The main themes addressed included consumer engagement, the green transition, renewable energy, anti-inflation product pricing, skills and training, and revitalising rural areas through digitalisation. The full report is available on Euro Coop’s website.
Throughout the European Social Economy Conference, COCETA, the Spanish Federation of Worker Cooperatives provided live coverage of the event. Their event podcast is available here (in Spanish).
Co-op News was also present at the event. Read their report on the conference here (in English).
